Such impact guard beams are used as side impact protection in vehicle doors and as bumper beams. The connecting element can be a short cover or a cover along the entire beam. Without the cover, the beam tends to flatten out when its crown is subjected to impact forces, so that the beam's bending resistance quickly decreases. If the beam has a planar cover, it maintains its profile, resulting in large stresses in the flanges and the cover and increased risk of cracks. Such a beam tends to buckle in the middle.